X
- 1980
- R
- AVCO Embassy Pictures
- 1 h 29 m
- 1980
- R
- AVCO Embassy Pictures
- 1 h 29 m
Summary Legend says that Antonio Bay was built in 1880 with blood money obtained from shipwrecked lepers, which no one believes. On the eve of the town's centennial, many plan to attend the celebrations, including the murdered lepers.
Directed By: John Carpenter
Written By: Debra Hill, John Carpenter
- 1980
- R
- AVCO Embassy Pictures
- 1 h 29 m
- 1980
- R
- AVCO Embassy Pictures
- 1 h 29 m
The Fog
55
6.9
Where to Watch
Summary Legend says that Antonio Bay was built in 1880 with blood money obtained from shipwrecked lepers, which no one believes. On the eve of the town's centennial, many plan to attend the celebrations, including the murdered lepers.
Directed By: John Carpenter
Written By: Debra Hill, John Carpenter
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
55
45% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
55% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
55
45% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
55% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Expanding enormously on the fantasy elements of his earlier films, Carpenter has turned in a full-scale thriller of the supernatural, as a sinister fog bank comes rolling in off the sea to take revenge on the smug little town of Antonio Bay.
The Fog is more spooky yarn than streamlined scream machine; it’s the sort of crowd pleaser best enjoyed with an audience.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 53 User Ratings
6.9
62% Positive
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
34% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
4% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 53 User Ratings
6.9
62% Positive
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
34% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
4% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
The Fog feels like a really good ghost story, in which it is. This movie nails it's atmosphere and story.
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Much better than I remembered, the weak spots in story, plot, and character didn't matter to me that much anymore. This film is the perfect campfire tale, moody and spooky, and tightly narrated. As seems to be a running theme with this year's halloween pics, we get great atmosphere and a great score. Combined with the perfectly cast actors and Carpenter's subtle direction, this film will last through the rest of the night.
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Removed from its context as the highly anticipated follow-up to a horror classic, The Fog lingers as a crafty and loving assemblage of pulp gimmicks, played out in a location that rivals Hitchcock locales for pure eye-vacation appeal.
Even amid all the campy, uneven creepiness The Fog unleashes, you have to give it up to Carpenter for continuing his knack of making women just as ready as men to get into heroic, survival mode whenever some strange shit goes down.
The Fog needs more suggestive magic to sustain its farfetched premise. There's no doubt that Carpenter has talent to spare, but he's misjudged his gifts this time. The Fog ought to come on little cat feet, but its tread is heavy and literal. The harder it tries, the sillier it gets. [03 March 1980, p.68]
The Fog is encouraging because it contains another demonstration of Carpenter's considerable directing talents. He picked the wrong story, I think, but he directs it with a flourish. This isn't a great movie but it does show great promise from Carpenter.
The film's real problem is Carpenter's diffuse narrative, which introduces far too many characters--forcing the director consistently to cut away to each story strand, thus destroying much of the suspense. What does work, however, is Carpenter's unmatched visual style and the marvelous photography of Dean Cundey.
The Fog is a typical thriller from John Carpenter. Literally from the first 10 minutes of viewing, it becomes clear who the director and composer of the film is. The Fog is for the most part a B-thriller with elements of light horror. But there is no horror here, and what may be similar to it in 2022 causes only cringe. The Fog will be boring to watch the vast majority of viewers in modern times, with the film failing the time test. It can only be recommended to fans of the genre and Carpenter fans like me. Fortunately, unlike most films of thrillers of the 80s in The Fog, the timing is only 1.5 hours and the film does not have time to get tired, although the action is somewhat delayed. The only thing that disappointed me a lot in the film, this decision to show ghosts, it destroys the atmosphere of the film considering how cheap and childish they look
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The Fog is a mixed bag. Some moments are extremely suspenseful and riveting. Other times the film puts me in a sleep like trance. Honestly the first time I watched this film it took me three times to completely finish the whole film start to finish. The Pirate zombies and the Fog effects are fun. Maybe the story would've worked better if it was part of a anthology film. Thirty minutes or so. As a full length feature film it just doesn't seem to be able to hold my interest. All that said I would still recommend checking out the film. Just be prepared with a caffeinated beverage close at hand.
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I quite enjoyed this village versus fog low-budget but big hitting horror film. This is far from John's best film but it is also far from his worst. Sadly forgotten sandwiched between Halloween and The Thing. It is good but it is still a zombie film. There are some very good moments that made me jump. Some of the visceral elements are really amazing. A solid slasher horror that can scare.
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From last few days, I have been watching John Carpenter's movie. I read alot of good things about this movie and watched it. I liked the idea of the movie and it was different for that time. For your info, this movie is now considered cult classic.
For me, the movie was tense but not scary. There are some good tense scenes. But for the most part, I felt like I was watching just an ordinary drama with some supernatural elements.
If we talk about performances, everyone did a fine job. Direction by John Carpenter was just like his other movies such as Halloween and The Thing. There was some issues with pacing but it will not effect the overall experience.
Overall, the movie is good and different for it's time. It was just that I expected too much and I found it underwhelming.
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Yet another horror movie that just doesn't work. I liked the premise but it was just so poorly executed that it kind of took the fun out of watching the movie. There should have been way more gore (pretty much nothing happens until the very end of the movie) and maybe slim out the cast of characters a bit and focus on 2-3 rather than 5-6. There were just too many subplots going on IMO. It's not a terrible film but it's rather mediocre and should have been way better than what it was.
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Awards
Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 2 Nominations
